Depends on which network and what technology the phone uses.
If its a 3G phone, you should be good with it for a while.
If its UMTS, it probably won't work. I haven't looked up the specs for that particular model, but if its only 2 yrs old, its probably a 3G phone.

I on the other hand would reccomend that you get a new phone everyday and toss the old one into the public water supply system, or print all your emails for the day and use them to start a fire to burn the one day old phone in.

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Originally Posted by colorider

Phobias are for irrational fears. Fear of junk ripping badgers is perfectly rational. Those things are nasty.

Most companies have basic (and some pretty darn nice) phones that are free with qualifying plans starting at $30ish dollars a month. If the monthly fees are the same either way and you can get a new phone, why not do that?

If you can live with a prepaid phone, there are also free phone offers from tmobile, verizon and the like. We have two prepaid phones. The primary phone gets used 1-2 hours a month and the other gets used as a backup - maybe an hour every other month. The total bill is less than $30/month for both.

If you're entering a 2 yr contract, which is hard to avoid, every cellphone carrier offers free phones. You might as well go for this. Also be aware that as batteries age, you'll get fewer and fewer hours on each charge; a new phone mitigates this.

I currently signed up for a pay-as-you plan with my old LG phone that I got free from a 2-year contract 3 years ago. No point in me spending $30-50 a month when I barely use my phone. I just bought a 15 minute earlier this morning and it should last me for the rest of the month.

I plan on trying Straight Talk (Tracfone/Walmart partnership) once I move to SC. Cheap monthly plan, no contract, limited phone selection. No nonsense. ~half the cost of the big boys with apparently decent coverage. GSM or CDMA phones and whose network depends on where you are.

Note that I've run into situations with Verizon where they tell me an older phone "will no longer work on the network" due to age. I suspect it's BS but couldn't figure out why they bother when a cheap phone is essentially free. Until you factor in a car charger, maybe an add'l wall charger for work, a case, etc.... and suddenly they are making some money on the free phone.

I plan on trying Straight Talk (Tracfone/Walmart partnership) once I move to SC. Cheap monthly plan, no contract, limited phone selection. No nonsense. ~half the cost of the big boys with apparently decent coverage. GSM or CDMA phones and whose network depends on where you are.

Have you checked out the T-Mobile/Wal-Mart offering called Family Mobile? If I ever go back to a contract, that might be the way for me.

Back on topic- I've got a Nokia Tracfone that I use for the exact reasons as the OP. I've had it for like 5 years now, it has some issues (wife doesn't get my texts, landlord gets a 'no longer in service' message), but I can talk on it when I need to. Family and employer has the number, friends contact via social media or email, everyone else calls the work number, and I use the computer to make calls via Google at home. Lifetime double minutes usually means I run out of calendar time before air time...

Originally Posted by Cyril

Ride what and in what manner pleases you. Those that mind don't matter, and those that matter don't mind. srsly.

Have you checked out the T-Mobile/Wal-Mart offering called Family Mobile? If I ever go back to a contract, that might be the way for me.

Nope. Hadn't heard of it. And I'm a family of one, for now. And thanks, but T-Mobile's coverage looks so-so around Greenville. Biking out in the sticks is not where I wanna be with no coverage. With Straight Talk I'd be counting on Verizon's (CDMA) network, but far cheaper. I do have to switch to something else cuz I'm currently with a regional (WI) carrier. I asked Verizon if my current CDMA phone could be used on their network. They gave some tech reason why not...something more to do with the phone manufacturer's designed obsolescence. Only certain serial numbers could be adapted for use. What a bunch of bologna.

TANSTAAFL. It's not a free phone, you're just subsidizing it in your phone bill just like if you get a $600 iPhone or other computerphone for $99 or $199. And it's only hard to avoid a two-year contract if you do subsizide a phone. Walk in with your own network-compatible phone, and you can do a one year contract followed by month to month, or maybe even no contract at all.

A new battery mitigates this, too. I just replaced the battery in mine after 6 years. Cost? $9 for a genuine Nokia replacement.

Your subsidy argument would have merit if a 2 year contract commanded a higher rate, as to pay for the phone over time. To my knowledge, there's no difference in price whether or not you supply your own unlocked phone. I have no compunction about entering a 2 year cellphone contract because I cannot foresee my desiring to terminate cellphone use within that time frame.

When my 2 year contract last expired I entered another contract, and to mitigate the battery problem I got a new phone, which I didn't pay for -- you paid more than me.

I had a touchscreen phone for a while. After the honeymoon ended, I realized a few things:

-I had to pay an extra $20/mo for data, even if I only used it for basic voice only.
-Maybe the technology has improved, but my phone was useless to me outside during the day. I couldn't see the display.
-All of those bells and whistles eat up the battery charge in a hurry.
-My laptop could do everything my phone could (and more).
-The touchscreen was heat sensitive- couldn't operate it while wearing gloves.

All that being said, at least you didn't get a Crackberry .

Originally Posted by Cyril

Ride what and in what manner pleases you. Those that mind don't matter, and those that matter don't mind. srsly.

Currently in the market, getting rid of the Blackberry and "debating/researching" android vs apple. Holding on til Sept when can drop daughter from family plan as she moves to Switzerland. While require and use a smart phone for work, family plan just wife and I.

Discovered a few things in my research...
1. Stupid phone companies push you to their competition with the "usually $100 difference" between a new customer and a current upgrading customer. Goodbye Sprint, hello ATT. Verizon highest monthly cost already and "act now because going higher by September" - you lose. T-Mobile a big question mark with pending takeover - but had problems with then in past.

2. Worst deal - some of the corporate phone stores. Charge full price on credit card and rebate on a VISA debit card which can be used everywhere EXCEPT paying off your credit card. OK deals Best Buy, Costco, Sams etc with similar pricing as corporate phone stores - but rebate included honest pricing. Always check Amazon because usually the best - sometimes paying you to take the phone that is a "free" offering elsewhere. A good example, the hot Motorola Atrix 4G, usually around $99 for new customers ($150 for upgrade customers) is $0.01 at Amazon. Likewise, $0.01 for the LG Phoenix (ATT version if the Metro PCS pictured above.)

3. Expanded corporate discount. When got the Blackberry a couple years ago, Sprint was the only one where I had a corporate discount, 18%, plus an intranet site that had discounts on phones. Att (18%), T-Mobile (15%) and Verizon (10%) are now part of employee discounts.